This invention relates to the field of high pressure cleaning tools for removing coatings, paint and other accretions from surfaces of bridges, roadways, sidewalks, water tanks and other storage containers, buildings, ships, and other vehicles. Specifically, the invention concerns a hand held tool for applying fluid dispersions to steel, aluminum, concrete or other structural materials.
In the disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,271 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,099, there is an explanation of the economic effects of a fouled bottom upon the operations of large ships. These economic factors are still true and illustrate the importance of this invention which teaches a quick and cost effective way to remove the performance robbing accretions.
Further, proper maintenance of a ship, both below and above the waterline, greatly extends the life span of a ship. The marine environment is very harsh on any exposed metal, causing rust and corrosion, making it very important to maintain a continuous, non-interrupted, protective coating on all surfaces. This requires constant attention to the condition of the paints or other coverings applied to the entirety of the ship. Once rust or corrosion penetrates a painted surface, it is necessary to remove the paint to expose the surrounding area and remove the rust and/or corrosion from the smaller affected area, then recover the whole area. This invention teaches a way to quickly expose large areas for refurbishing.
The large relatively unobstructed flat areas of ships may be cleaned using robots or other mechanized devices thereby significantly reducing the required man hours. There are many smaller complex surfaces that conventional robots may not effectively clean. In these labor intensive areas, hand held wands must be used for complete removal of the necessary coverings.
The above referenced patents also discuss the environmental effects of the different conventional methods used to remove large amounts of accretions and protective coatings from the ships or other structures. The conventional methods include dry abrasion using sand or coal slag particles in high pressure air streams and wet abrasion using different particles in a liquid stream. All of these systems leave large amounts of contaminated by-products released into the atmosphere and for disposal.
The disclosures of the above referenced patents include the use of large amounts of high pressure water impinging on the hull within an enclosed space for removing the coatings on the hulls of ships to include paints, coatings and organisms. A slurry of waste materials and water remains for disposal. The environmental impact of this method is significantly less than the other conventional methods. The same environmental considerations are true in the use of the hand held wands.
The conventional hand held wands are heavy and cumbersome which greatly reduces the operator""s ability to manipulate them without frequent rest periods. In all applications, the time to remove the given coatings is critical and controls the cost of each project. Since the operator has to hold the wand out in front of him all day, the weight of the carrier head is most important, as well as, the size of the cleaning path. Present designs have been limited to a path of two to three inches because of the weight of the wand. Anything larger causes premature fatigue to the operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,961 to Reitzig discloses a nozzle head for a hand held jet cleaning device. The nozzle head is a solid conical shape with angled bores from a central supply input tapering outwardly to multiple nozzles. The nozzle head is to be connected to a hand held lance or wand and manipulated by an operator.
The nozzle head appears to be monolithic with difficult to machine angled bores in a truncated cone.
What is needed in the art is a light weight carrier head that is easy to operate for long periods of time and covers a wide path on each pass providing increased efficiency.
A light weight carrier head is attached to a hand held wand for fluid removal of coatings, paint and other accretions from structural surfaces. The carrier head is in the shape of a ring with equidistant nozzles capable of producing 25,000 to 60,000 psi fluid dispersions covering a swath of up to 6 inches. The cleaning tool has a central axis with a fluid supply connection, a plurality of spokes radiating outwardly from said central axis and terminating in a ring connecting said spokes with each of the spokes containing a bore. One end of each of bore communicates with the central axis. The other end of each of bore terminates in nozzles mounted in the ring. The nozzles are capable of 25,000 to 60,000 psi fluid pressure.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to teach an apparatus and method of removing coatings, including animal and plant organisms, paint, or other materials, from structural surfaces by a manual process using a hand held wand with a light weight carrier head.
It is a further objective of the instant invention to teach a carrier head with a central supply conduit and multiple lines disposed in a common plane terminating in ultra high pressure nozzles.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to teach a carrier head having an outer ring periphery connected to a central supply conduit by spokes containing lines transmitting fluid to nozzles in the ring.
It is a still further objective of the invention to teach the angular orientation of the nozzles with regard to the supply lines of the carrier head.